Opinion: Is Xbox Heading Towards a Digital-Only Future?

With the Xbox Game Pass now including exclusive games on the day of release, it seems Microsoft is slowly building a Netflix-for-games service and becoming platform-neutral.

By
Mufaddal Fakhruddin

Microsoft announced that its Netflix-like game subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, will feature exclusive first-party titles from launch day as part of the package. This means that the upcoming Sea of Thieves and Crackdown 3, and even the next Halo game will be available on the service immediately after launch. This is a bold move considering the impact it could have on sales for their big releases, which makes me wonder if Microsoft is playing a long con here - a slow but steady move towards a platform-neutral game service.

While Sony and Nintendo seem content with the classic hardware-software combo so far this generation, Microsoft has been rolling the dice a bit differently. They are still banking on the Xbox One, sure, but they have also been etching plans on the side, as well. Of prominence is their commitment to release every Xbox exclusive for the PC on launch day – which is another bold yet weird move as it makes owning an Xbox for exclusives a hard sell for many core buyers. However, the news about the Xbox Game Pass could possibly tie into this, indicating that Microsoft could be moving towards a subscription service that not only houses all of their games, but is available on other platforms as well.

This theory is probably silly and far fetched, but the rapid adaptation of Netflix around the world says that people are ready for an affordable subscription service that provides a variety of content at a click of a button. It wouldn’t be surprising that Microsoft, with their years of experience with hardware and software, could be considering a similar future for the Xbox brand. It is common knowledge that gaming consoles are built at a loss, where manufacturers like Sony and Microsoft aim to recover the dollars lost by selling software. However, now that more people have high-speed internet readily available, a platform-neutral service that offers game downloads (and possibly streams them) but runs on existing hardware like PC isn’t exactly science-fiction.

The biggest trial that Microsoft will face is getting third party publishers like EA, Ubisoft, Activision, etc., to sign up for the service and provide their big titles on launch day. That will be one of the key elements in enticing gamers to adapt to the service, and while they might not be able to secure all games, by throwing money to secure the big titles for a timed-exclusive, much like the deal they struck with Square Enix for the Rise of the Tomb Raider, it could work massively in their favor. Of course, there is nothing stopping those publishers from running their own service. EA has already picked up on the idea with the Origin Pass, and while they still don’t include new games on launch day, I would wager that such an announcement isn’t too far away.

Another problem Microsoft will have, and is continually combating this generation, is a solid lineup of first party games. Beyond Gears of War, Halo and Forza, the Xbox One is struggling to bring any sort of value in terms of exclusive games, and if you compare that lineup with what the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch has in store, it pales in comparison. However, with the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X kicking off a mid next-generation for consoles, Microsoft still has time to solidify their lineup before bidding hardware goodbye all together. This year’s E3 might be their most defining yet.

Do We Want a Netflix For Games?

Digital downloads are now slowly being embraced by the majority of gamers, but if they are willing to give up ownership of their games and subscribe to a monthly service to play them is another question entirely. I, personally, would prefer a subscription service if it’s reasonably priced. If I can play all the latest games, at $10-$15 a month, or even $70-$80 a month if the concept proliferates among publishers is still ideal. It would simply give me access to a huge library of games that I wouldn’t think about playing because I do not want to risk or cannot spend dollars on getting it. If I like a game but want to opt-out of the service, I could simply buy it and play it that way.

The concept also makes sense by how games are being developed this generation. GAAS, or Games As A Service-type games like Destiny 2, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch are all mini-platforms of their own, where the player base are treated with add-ons and downloadable content for years on end. GAAS games are an upcoming trend and it will be adopted by every major publisher and incorporated into all of their big releases to develop a large player base that can feed dollars into the game for years on end. If there is a monthly subscription service that would bring them under one standard subscription fee, it just might help publishers develop a larger player base for each game and make more money as players might be more inclined to spend on a particular game because they no longer had to drop $60 for it. It would also make the coveted micro-transactions more acceptable if not done in an outright insidious way.

We only have to look at the music industry to know that this could work out very well. Services like Spotify, Apple Music, Anghami and more have revolutionized how music is distributed to end-users. It’s available worldwide and on almost every platform, and their massive popularity means that there is a clear demand for such a service and it could may as well translate to games.

That said, we are still somewhat technologically behind in realizing this idea to fruition. Services like Netflix or Spotify are popular because it streams the content rather than downloading them, which games are not yet fully capable of. Xbox Game Pass and other such services requires users to download hundreds of GBs worth of games all at once, which in countries with slower/expensive bandwidth connections is less than ideal. I don’t know how Microsoft or any other company will combat this, unless they go the OnLive route and start to stream games, as well. That’s another challenge entirely.

So, I will leave this debate open to you, our readers. Are you willing to give Xbox Game Pass or a similar service that provides all the latest games for a monthly fee a chance, or do you still prefer to own your games, even if it’s a digital copy? Sound off in the comments below!

Mufaddal Fakhruddin is a Senior Editor at IGN Middle East. He is usually found RTing memes on Twitter.